Comments on: What’s a Million Dollars?

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:08:05 +0000

Wealth to me, is having all past debts paid off, A comfortable, but affordable home to raise my family, and a reliable vehicle that takes me from point A to point B. It is also the freedom to choose a career based on personal preference instead of salary and benefits.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:51:00 +0000

Hmm…I don’t think of a million as a lot of money at all. And I think MOST of us will deal with a million with our own personal finances. Just think of how much money you make over your lifetime.

One million dollars wouldn’t let my husband quit working. $40k isn’t even a generous income. I think most people making $40k a year are still struggling to make ends meet especially if you are trying to raise a family on that amount and I live in one of the least expensive areas of the country.

I’ve often said that I wonder why people put themselves through the bug bites and the nasty food on Survivor for a million dollars. That show is a ratings bonanza for them and incredibly cheap to produce. They should be offering a 10 million dollar prise MINIMUM!

And if I won the lottery, I suspect a million dollars would make my life pretty miserable. It isn’t enough to spread around and I think there would be a whole lot of people that would be disappointed. My husband and I joke that we only play if it is $19 million or more becuase that is what it would take for us to enjoy our lifestyle and to deal with the family members that would want their piece (and that I’d desire to give them).

I also don’t agree that you always want more and bigger. I’ve reached a point in my life where I want one step up house, but not more than that. What I want most is time. And I want enough money to afford me to time to do the things I enjoy doing (mostly travel). Life is far more about experiences than things, and I’d like enough to have and expose my children to as many experiences as possible. And it would take much more than a million dollars.

By: GTT

GTT — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:02:00 +0000

@ LIZA JANE: Well said!

Rich is a point of view. However much money you have you always look at the next step up and want that amount of money! Once you own a house, you wish you lived somewhere better or bigger. Once you have a car, you wish it was a better brand, bigger, or whatever.

No matter who you are, the grass is always greener……

By: Liza Jane

Liza Jane — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:45:00 +0000

Rich, to me, is having enough money that you can make important decisions without money being the biggest factor: where to live, what to do with your life. So it’s a rubber ruler, with “rich” defined by what’s important to each person.

reCaptcha = small Edith, whoever she is.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:29:00 +0000

I have the same opinions as the rest of the post here.
I have often thought of winnignthe lottery, or aquiring just 1/10 of what, say trump, makes.
I would pay off the house, fix it up and buy a better home, buy a car for myself and my husband, pay off all debt and cut up all credit cards and then put the rest in accounts for childs college, marrage, and our retirment…..
i wouls still work, i have to….when i was with out a job it was cool the first few days to sleep in, but after that i was desperate to work on something……

By: Megan

Megan — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:20:00 +0000

Amen, Angie; amen.

By: bucsfan

bucsfan — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:43:00 +0000

I agree with crovenpaver. $1 million would pay off debts and get you set up for a comfortable retirement, but you would still have to work for health insurance. Plus you have to always pay real estate taxes, etc.
I would definitely have my wife quit working though.

By: crovenpaver

crovenpaver — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:25:00 +0000

I was just thinking this morning what I would do if I won a million bucks on a scratch ticket. Pay off my mortgage, help my family, redo my kitchen and bathroom, and buy a decent car. Other than that, I would keep working, but it would be nice not to worry about money anymore.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:04:00 +0000

If you are as old as I am, you remember the TV show “The Millionaire”. It first aired in 1955.

According to the CPI calculator on the Bureau of Labor Statistic, to have the buying power of that $1 million 1955 dollars, you would need $8.1 million.

By: Angie

Angie — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:20:00 +0000

Honest to goodness, $150,000 is rich to me at this point. With that much money, I could pay off my student loans and credit cards, get a nice new car, get the carpets in my apartment really, really clean, have someone teach me how to be a really good pet owner, be able to pay for grad school without debt, and splurge on an iPod for myself, something for my boyfriend, and treats for my immediate family. Mostly? I just don’t want to be in such awful debt anymore!